The Erie Otters had the OHL’s best team right where they wanted them – in a shootout.

Behind Shawn Szydlowski’s goal and Ramis Sadikov’s three saves in the shootout, the Otters secured a 3-2 win against Mississauga St. Michael’s in front of 2,515 at Tullio Arena Thursday night.

The Otters (23-20-1-1) swept the two-game season series with the Eastern Conference-leading Majors (33-7-0-2) – both in shootouts. The Otters also won 2-1 in Mississauga Nov. 7.

The Majors jumped on the sluggish Otters early, as Devante Smith-Pelly scored his 23^rd goal of the season 2:33 into the opening period. Then with 7:04 left in the period, Derek Schoenmakers deflected Brett Flemming’s shot from the point past Sadikov for a 2-0 Majors’ lead.

In between, the Otters squandered the first four power plays of the game. But Brett Thompson’s second goal as an Otter and 27^th of the season sliced the Majors’ lead in half at 2-1 with 2:58 left in the period.

Then 6:57 into the second period, Phil Varone turned Shawn Szydlowski’s pinpoint cross-ice pass into the tying goal. Meanwhile, Sadikov stopped all 14 shots in the period to send the game to the third tied.

These teams remained tied through the third and overtime. But Szydlowski scored on the Otters’ second shootout attempt. Then Sadikov sealed their third straight win by poke-checking the puck away from Casey Cizikas. The Otters are three games above .500 for the first time this season.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Otters 3, Majors 2 (SO)

Mississauga  2  0  0  0  0  —  2

Erie  1  1  0  0  1  —  3

1^st Period — 1. Mississauga, Devante Smith-Pelly 23 (DeSousa, Cizikas), 2:33. 2. Mississauga, Derek Schoenmakers 6 (Flemming, Brace), 12:56. 3. Erie, Brett Thompson 27 (Holden, Cazzola), 17:02. Penalties — DeMelo (M) delay of game, 4:07; Flemming (M) interference, 6:54; Kitsyn (M) tripping, 9:11; 14:07; Flick (M) roughing, 14:07; Appio (E) 5-min. fighting, 14:07; Flick (M) 5-min. fighting, 14:07; Luciani (E) checking to the head, 17:56.

2^nd Period — 4. Erie, Phil Varone 19 (Szydlowski, Austin), 6:57. Penalties — Cazzola (E) high sticking, 2:17; McGuire (E) 4-min. roughing, 15:32; DeMelo (M) 4-min. roughing, 15:32.

3^rd Period — None. Penalties — Shugg (M) checking from behind, 8:03; Appio (E) hooking, 18:16.

Overtime — None. Penalties — None.

Shootout — Varone (E) no goal; Shugg (M) no goal; Szydlowski (E) goal; Kitsyn (M) no goal; Luciani (E) no goal; Cizikas (M) no goal.

Shots on goal — Mississauga, 12-14-9-4-0—38; Erie, 13-7-6-4-1—31.

Goaltenders — Mississauga, J.P. Anderson 22-5-0-1 (30 shots, 28 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 23-14-1-1 (38 shots, 36 saves).

Power plays — Mississauga (0-3), Erie (0-5).

Referees — Craig Spada, Ben Wilson. Linesmen — Fraser McIntire, Ray King.

Attendance — 2,515.

Three stars

* Ramis Sadikov, Otters (36 saves – 3 SO) ** Phil Varone, Otters (goal) *** Shawn Szydlowski, Otters (GW shootout goal)

The Erie Otters finally have another winning streak.

Rookie center Luke Cairns scored two goals and Shawn Szydlowski added three assists to lead the Otters to a 5-2 win against Guelph in front of 2,511 at Tullio Arena Wednesday night.

The Otters (7-12-1-0) have won two straight games, their first winning streak of any kind since winning two in a row in early October. Erie also won at Mississauga St. Michael’s on Sunday.

Cairns continued his impressive start to the season. Cairns, who subbed for injured center Mike Cazzola on a No. 1 line featuring wingers Greg McKegg and Szydlowski, scored 4:53 into the opening period to hand the Otters a 1-0 lead. Szydlowski and Tyler Hostetter assisted on the goal.

Guelph tied the score at 1 at the 6:31 mark of the second period on rookie winger Brock McGinn’s first Ontario Hockey League goal. But the Otters broke the game open by scoring four of the next five goals.

Late in the opening period, Anthony Luciani scored a power-play goal in his long-awaited return to the Otters’ lineup to snap the 1-1 tie. Luciani, who missed the past month with a broken right wrist, fired a rebound past Storm goaltender Matej Machovsky for his fourth goal of the season.

Linemate Phil Varone scored his third goal in seven games with the Otters to extend the lead to 3-1 just 1:16 into the third. Guelph’s Tyler Carroll responded with his fifth goal of the season 38 seconds later to move the Storm (9-6-1-1) within 3-2. But Cairns scored again at the 9:18 mark – the first two-goal game of his brief OHL career – to regain the Otters’ two-goal advantage at 4-2.

McKegg followed with his team-leading 11^th goal of the season, on assists from Hostetter and rookie defenseman Adam Pelech, for a 5-2 lead with 8:16 left in the game.

Luciani (goal, assist) joined Cairns and Szydlowski in recording multi-point efforts in the win. Machovsky made 31 saves in a losing effort for the Storm, which lost for the first time since losing No. 1 goaltender Brandon Foote to an arm injury three games ago.

* News and notes: Mike Cazzola’s wrist injury could be as serious as Luciani’s broken wrist, said Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager. But club officials will learn more today about Cazzola’s injury, which he suffered in Saturday’s loss to Owen Sound. He played with the injury in Sunday’s win at Mississauga and also practiced earlier this week. … Former winger Scott Mitchell has cleared waivers, Bassin said, meaning the Otters maintain his rights. Mitchell could join a team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Bassin said.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Otters 5, Storm 2

Guelph  0  1  1  —  2

Erie  1  1  3  —  5

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Luke Cairns 2 (Hostetter, Szydlowski), 4:53. Penalties — Van Laren (G) hooking, 1:07; Varone (E) interference, 7:53; Van Laren (G) holding, 18:56.

2^nd Period — 2. Guelph, Brock McGinn 1 (Kosmachuk, Tresham), 6:31. 3. Erie, Anthony Luciani 4 (Szydlowski, Holden), 18:57 (pp). Penalties — Erie, too many men (served by Paton), 11:01.

3^rd Period — 4. Erie, Phil Varone 4 (Luciani), 1:16. 5. Guelph, Tyler Carroll 5 (Menard), 1:54. 6. Erie, Cairns 3 (Szydlowski, Varone), 9:18. 7. Erie, Greg McKegg 11 (Hostetter, Pelech), 11:44. Penalties — Pedan (G) hooking, 11:03; Paton (E) diving, 11:03; Crisp (E) hooking, 14:23; Latta (G) 10-min. misconduct, 18:36; Beck (G) hooking, 18:54.

Shots on goal — Guelph, 7-10-7—24; Erie, 11-17-8—36.

Goaltenders — Guelph, Matej Machovsky 2-2-0-0 (36 shots, 31 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 7-9-1-0 (24 shots, 22 saves).

Power plays — Guelph (0-3), Erie (1-4).

Referees — Mike Bolibruck, Mike Cairns. Linesmen — Jesse Wilmot, R.J. King.

Attendance — 2,511.

Three stars

* Luke Cairns, Otters (2 goals) ** Shawn Szydlowski, Otters (3 assists) *** Anthony Luciani, Otters (goal, assist)

What: Erie Otters (0-0-0-0) at Brampton Battalion (0-0-0-0)

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Powerade Centre – Brampton, Ontario

On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)

Mike Cazzola (Contributed/Erie Otters)

Players to watch

Erie – C Mike Cazzola (36 goals, 50 assists, 86 points in 2009-10), RW Anthony Luciani (38-30-68), RW Shawn Szydlowski (21-27-48), G Ramis Sadikov (9-10-1-2 record, 4.02 goals-against average, .890 save percentage, D Mitch Gaulton (5-26-31)

Brampton – LW Sean Jones (32-17-49), C Sam Carrick (21-21-42), RW Scott Tanski (15-19-34), RW Philip Lane (18-14-32), D Cameron Wind (3-8-11, +7)

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters have a 9-4-1 all-time record in season openers. They began last season with a 4-3 win in Sudbury, which snapped a two-game, season-opening skid. … They have played every season opener in franchise history on the road. … The Otters begin the regular season without F Greg McKegg (37-48-85) and David Shields (7-12-19, plus-10 rating), who remain at NHL training camps with the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues, respectively. McKegg survived the Maple Leafs’ first round of cuts. … D Tyler Hostetter (2-24-26) returned from Philadelphia Flyers camp on Wednesday. … Sadikov is expected to start tonight in net. … Rookie C Connor Crisp won’t play this weekend because of an undisclosed injury. … Rookie C/LW Chris Marchese makes his OHL debut in front of 80-90 family members and friends, who are traveling from his hometown in nearby Woodbridge, Ontario. He will play center on a line with Szydlowski and LW David Broll (9-9-18). … The Otters and Battalion meet in a

Sean Jones (Contributed/Brampton Battalion)

season opener for the first time. … Coach Robbie Ftorek planned to announce his captains today.

Brampton – Jones, a former Otter, enters his overage season after being one of the OHL’s top goal scorers in 2009-10, his first season in Brampton. … The Battalion scored a league-low 167 goals last season. But the club’s 181 goals against ranked second to Mississauga St. Michael’s (175). … The Battalion reached the second round of the 2009-10 Eastern Conference playoffs despite finishing the regular season with a losing record (25-29-7-7). … Tanski and LW Stephon Thorne (Columbus Blue Jackets), Lane (Phoenix Coyotes), LW Alex O’Neil (New York Islanders) and C Jonathan Johansson (Atlanta Thrashers) returned from NHL camps late last week.

Up next: vs. Saginaw (Saturday, 7 p.m.), at Niagara (Thursday, 7 p.m.)

CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, announced on Monday that Dave Cameron, head coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors will be head coach of Canada’s National Junior Team for the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship, scheduled for December 26, 2010, to January 5, 2011, in Buffalo and Niagara, N.Y.

Cameron will be joined behind Canada’s bench by assistant coaches Bob Boughner (head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires), Ryan Huska (head coach of the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets) and André Tourigny (head coach and general manager of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies).

Cameron, 51, will be a part of the National Junior Team coaching staff for the third-consecutive year, having won gold as an assistant coach in 2009 in Ottawa, Ont., before taking silver as an associate coach in 2010 in Regina/Saskatoon, Sask. Cameron also served as head coach of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2004 Junior World Cup, winning a gold medal. The Kincora, Prince Edward Island native has been head coach and director of hockey operations of Mississauga St. Michael’s since the 2007-08 season.

“I am truly honoured and humbled to be named head coach of Canada’s National Junior Team,” said Cameron. “I look forward to working with the great staff that we have assembled, and our first objective will be to reclaim gold for Canada at the World Juniors.”

Boughner, 39, was the head coach of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2009 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka, leading it to its second-consecutive gold medal. Boughner, an 11-year National Hockey League veteran, has led Windsor to Memorial Cup championships in 2009 and 2010, and was named OHL and CHL coach of the year in both 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Huska, 34, will make his international debut behind the bench at the 2011 IIHF World Championship. The head coach of the Rockets since 2007, Huska is a veteran of seven Memorial Cups as both a player and a coach. He won championships as a player with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers in 1992, 1994 and 1995 and as an assistant coach with Kelowna in 2004, and also appeared in the tournament as Kelowna’s assistant coach in 2003 and 2005 and as the team’s head coach in 2009.

Tourigny, 36, will be an assistant coach with Canada’s National Junior Team for the second year in a row, having served under Willie Desjardins at the 2010 tournament. The Nicolet, Que., native was an assistant coach of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team for the 2008 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka, winning a gold medal. He has been head coach of the Huskies since 2001 and was named QMJHL coach of the year in 2005-06.

“We are very excited about the coaching staff we are naming today for Canada’s National Junior Team,” said Brad Pascall, Hockey Canada’s senior director of men’s national teams. “All four of these coaches bring a wealth of experience, and we look forward to working with them this winter in Buffalo.”

Hockey Canada will announce details for the National Junior Team’s summer development camp shortly, including the players that will be invited to camp.

- From Hockey Canada news release

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League announced Wednesday that four teams will have the opportunity to make formal bid presentations to host the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

The Barrie Colts, Kingston Frontenacs, Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and Windsor Spitfires have advanced in the bid process for the right to host the 93^rd edition of the Canadian Hockey League’s prestigious national championship.  All four clubs had previously submitted their Memorial Cup Standard application form on February 10. They will present before the site selection committee on April 14.

The successful host center for the Memorial Cup will be announced during the week of May 3, to provide the delegates of the successful host committee the opportunity to travel to Brandon, Manitoba, in time for the 2010 Memorial Cup, which takes place May 14-23.

The 2011 Memorial Cup will take place May 20-29, featuring the league champions from the OHL, Western Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, along with a host team from the OHL.

2011 Memorial Cup key dates:

April 14: Formal bid presentations to be made to the site selection committee.

Week of May 3: Announcement of the host site for the Memorial Cup.

May 14-23: 2010 Memorial Cup in Brandon, Manitoba.